Cauleen Smith, Irena Haiduk, and Martine Syms on View at the ICA in Richmond
Two new exhibitions open on February 16 at the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.
Cauleen Smith: Give It or Leave It
February 16–May 5, 2019
An exhibition of film, video, and sculpture by filmmaker and artist Cauleen Smith travels from Philadelphia to the new ICA at VCU with an overlapping series of immersive installations. Revising the phrase “take it or leave it,” Give It or Leave It cultivates a spirit of generosity, hospitality, and selflessness, and proposes a new rule for a better world: creating something, offering it, and gifting it, regardless of recognition, acceptance, or rejection. At the core of the exhibition are two films—“Pilgrim” (2017) and “Sojourner” (2018)—which address acts of creativity and radical generosity rooted in current events and social communities and allow the artist to reimagine a future that is Black, feminist, spiritual, and unabashedly alive.
Dialogues: Irena Haiduk + Martine Syms
February 16–May 12, 2019
In the inaugural exhibition of the ICA’s annual Dialogues series, artists Irena Haiduk and Martine Syms produce new projects, titled respectively Tableau Économique and Shame Space. These projects extend Haiduk’s and Syms’ investment in economy and entrepreneurship through ICA-commissioned installations that invite active participation from audience members. Inspired by the architecture of the ICA’s Markel Center, the Dialogues series pairs two artists to activate the distinctive “V” shape of the second-floor galleries. Each artist will occupy their own space, but the series invites participants to consider overlap, resonance, and difference between their practices.
The ICA is free and open to the public, Tuesday through Sunday.
For more information, visit icavcu.org/exhibitions
